New York Giants legend Eli Manning was never much of a rah-rah guy. He wasn’t keen on giving speeches to the team, he didn’t partake in Michael Strahan’s “stomp them out” pregame ritual and he rarely showed emotion.
Manning led differently. But every now and again, he’d get a wild hair and hit the team with an impactful speech. He chose his spots.
On Tuesday, following the Giants’ sixth training camp practice, Manning chose a spot. He delivered a powerful and motivational message to the current group of players.
.@EliManning's message to the team 🗣 pic.twitter.com/AsAtybQ8qU
— New York Giants (@Giants) August 2, 2022
Manning’s message hit home.
“That was pretty cool I can’t lie, that was cool. Just growing up watching Eli and just seeing all the great things he did. To come back and talk to the team, I feel like that means a lot to the team and everyone in the building,” linebacker Tae Crowder told reporters. “I was excited. It’s a blessing to be in the position that we’re in and just to have someone come and talk like him, it’s amazing.”
“I always call him the GOAT. I mess around with him and all this stuff, but you know, it’s good to see his face. It’s been a while since he could actually come around and talk because of COVID and stuff, but it’s good to hear the message from him today,” defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence said. “[His message was] just come out and trust in the process. Being a good teammate and being a good person to people you’re around every day, competing. You know, if you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse type of thing. Just having that mental thing going through camp is good.”
Manning’s voice obviously means something and the Giants players — whether they know Eli personally or not — were all ears.
